What do you think of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta SS

Auction report describing the price and its relation to prior sales is here, at lot #32: http://www.sportscardigest.com/gooding-and-company-amelia-island-auction-2011-report/

The price was subsequently surpassed by an unrestored SS originally owned by Briggs Cunningham.

 

THe problem with the SS is that it is unusual and sort of pretty, but not much fun to drive. They are pretty heavy compared to other cars with the same motor. I much prefer Giulietta/Giulia Spider Veloces which are not quite as unusual looking, but more fun to drive.

 

You could work the engine a bit more, but the Alfa is a funny car in that all the components are lightweight, yet the bodies weighed a ton. End result was still a heavy car. I guess thats why the Zagato's are so nice.

 

Per the Giulietta owners' manual:

weight horsepower

860 kg 114 HP SAE sprint speciale
895 103 sprint veloce
865 103 spider veloce
880 91 sprint
860 91 spider
770 114 sprint Zagato

The SS and sprint Zagato have a more highly tuned engine, that can make the car feel sluggish if not driven aggressively. Keep the revs up, and the higher performance is noticeable.

The spider veloce in the Gooding sale was also mine, and was one of the most 'together' cars I've ever owned, Rick Carey's erroneous auction review comments notwithstanding. Great fun and very easy to drive, but the SS was both more demanding and more rewarding.

 

Giuliettas are basically simple, reliable and easy to maintain, except that parts are much more difficult to find than comparable British cars. One aspect of this is a remarkable lack of standardization. Bodies were hand fitted and mechanical parts changed almost whimsically. But then that's part of the charm.

There is terrific intra-owner support through the 750-101 Yahoo group and AlfaBB. It's actually superior to the factory warranty on Alfas I owned back in the '70s.

Problem #1 is rust. The cars were not built to last more than a few years in a benign climate. Most of the cars that still survive have already been restored, and those that haven't will quickly put you into negative equity.

Problem #2 is that years of low values have made these hobbyist cars for decades. Standards of authenticity in restoration are generally not good. Quality is generally not so good either, but then neither was the original factory product, so at least that aspect is authentic.

Giuliettas are enormously appealing, especially to those who would like to run out for a Sunday newspaper without cranking 12 cylinders into life. Really good ones are quite rare, and command a premium price.

 

Quirky or not you had a couple fantastic cars. Possibly the quirk is what I like.

I had the pleasure of driving 1500 miles thru the Canadien Rockies with a Alfa Zagato ( not exactly sure the real name ) and it was just awesome. Looked like a 60 year old bullet. Just so awesome!

 

Sure, sounds good. What makes a really good one is no different from any other car - quality of the restoration, authenticity and correct components, mechanical condition, etc.

Values of Giuliettas have gone up because they are starting to be sold at major auctions, where affluent collectors are happy to pay good prices for charismatic cars - provided that they are top examples.

Otherwise money is flowing into non-productive non-financial assets like old cars because economic growth and productivity have been unwittingly sacrificed to political activism. But I digress.

 

I often see incorrect upholstery on most restored Alfa's. 2nd gear syncro is also something to check on all cars. As I mentioned before the three shoe brake pads are a pain.

 

I always liked the low nose better. They did not have bumpers and had a much cleaner nose design. The cheesy chrome rear bumper below the trunk was also not on the low nose versions. I have seen photos of a low nose with a rear trunk that goes all the way to the edge unlike the really early one in the photo. The original design was the low now version also. Problem is low nose SS's cost a fortune compared to the much less rare high nose. Another point, several low nose versions had alloy bodies and were lighter. They made several dozen low nose cars.


Tom Tanner/Ferrari Expo 2012-Chicago March 17th 2012

 

I looked at one at Bobcor Alfa once; it had a plexiglass bug deflector maybe two or three inches high mounted aft of the windshield on the hood.

I think the car was $7 or $8K at the time . . . this was in the late 70's.

 

...so, it was mounted on the dash top?? (jk)

More likely about 6" forward of the windshield...? Always wanted to see if that really worked at US highway speeds...

 

Not for bugs. It prevented the wipers from levitating over the windshield.

 

...so, to my question....does it work? for either purpose?

 

I notice that Road & Track tested a new Giulietta SS in July 1961 and a new Giulia SS in May 1966. Both of these cars have the deflector in front of the center of the windscreen (nowhere near full width). In the 1966 report, they say:

"....a small bug deflector strip on the hood effectively boosted insects and detritus over the windscreen..."

 

Even in Italy in the '50s, the cost/benefit of keeping bugs off the windshield doesn't justify mounting a deflector on every unit of a production car. The windshield is relatively close to horizontal (for those days) and they hadn't yet learned how to manage airflow over the wiper arms. The deflector was a kludge for that purpose, but you can call it whatever you like.

Does it work for that purpose ? Can't say, I never drove the car in the rain. In fact, that fresh, perfect windshield looked better without the wipers so I never mounted them.

For philt68: http://giuliettas.com/2011/12/31/marker-360-ss-381261-in-burlingame/

 

The dark blue Giulia SS looks nice but the price is much to high.

If you are looking for a car to drive, the Giulia SS (1600) is nicer
than the Giulietta SS - you could easily tune the engine up to
130-140 hp without loosing the caracter of it.

I believe all Giulia SS has the disc brakes system i front - I prefer the
3-shoe drums , much more beautiful and not at all as bad as it´s
reputation.

 

I'd agree with one out of three. The 3-shoe drums are great. These cars are light, so the stopping power is excellent and they are very easy to modulate.

Prices have risen abruptly for SSs. Look at the charts: http://www.hagerty.com/valuationtools/HVT/VehicleSearch

The most substantive difference between the Giulietta and Giulia SSs is the interior. I prefer the former, as the car was originally designed, whereas the more modern Giulia interior seems incongruous. The 1300 engine is more highly tuned and feels it, yet the difference in performance with the 1600 is negligible - unless you start tuning, which affects authenticity, which affects value.

 

Hi,

I've lots of personal experience with the later Giulia SS- my dad bought one (s/n 381359) used in ~1970, drove it, restored it and won the concours at the AROC national convetsion one year.

Most of my comments would echo those already posted. But one already restored, and make sure that you fit! One of the reasons my dad sold our SS was that I grew to be 6'-0" (and long in the torso), and my head was firmly wedged against the roof.

The three shoe brakes (which, on the Giulia, were on the rear axle- front axle had Dunlop discs) are fine, when adjusted properly. Haldling is "vintage"- lots of body lean, poor turning circle, lousy cockpit ventalation.

I dearly miss ours...

 

Pics of an SS living in the Great White North.
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HA! If we are going to start using Italian owner's manual to deduce weight, this is going to get pretty hilarious. For the record, Road and Track weighed a 1300 Sprint Speciale in 1961 at 2450 lbs. The SS and Zagato had different cam timing to move the torque curve up (thus the higher hp numbers), but little else of significance. I guess we just have different opinions, but I personally do not enjoy driving SS cars much- large overhang, high pmi, they are really only good on a long gently curving road, definitely more of a cruiser than a sports car, as also evidenced by their relative lack of use in racing. If I had one, I would do exactly as you have- sell it! I've had one of my Spider Veloces for 33 years and it's not going anywhere.

 

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